For this year’s Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras sponsorship, ANZ is empowering the Australian LGBTIQ+ community and its allies to challenge hurtful homophobic language by spreading a little #LoveSpeech.
Some 74 per cent of the LGBTIQ+ community believe that hurtful and homophobic language directed at them is a major issue, but only 34 per cent feel confident in calling it out.
With 52 per cent of non-LGBTIQ+ Australians believing the community get offended too easily, it’s no wonder the community feels disempowered to confront it.
As principal partner of Mardi Gras, ANZ has launched #LoveSpeech – a campaign borne from the bank’s ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion.
To ignite the conversation, a raw, emotive film has been released which calls attention to the profoundly negative effects hurtful language has on the the LGBTIQ+ community –underscoring that “Words Do Hurt”.
https://youtu.be/R0ULzmbFSqI
Directed by the Glue Society, the film portrays a collection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer individuals sharing their own lived experiences.
Hugely confronting in its unscripted honesty, the film concludes on a hopeful note – appealing for a world with more #LoveSpeech.
Surrounding the film, ANZ is revealing a prominent billboard overlooking the Mardi Gras parade-route which boldly espouses that “Boys Should Never Wear Dresses”, only to see LGBTIQ+ Graffiti artist, David Lee Pereira, disarm this hurtful slur by adding, “Without A Killer Pair of Heels”. The billboard is supported by a series of colourful posters and gifs that take frequently heard hurtful comments and flip them into #LoveSpeech.
In addition, ANZ has created two useful tools in the quest for more #LoveSpeech. The “Hurt Blocker” is a Google Chrome Extention, which transforms hurtful slurs into fun-loving emoji’s.
And ANZ’s Guide to #LoveSpeech helps people understand how words (even when unintentional) can hurt.
“We are incredibly proud of the work we have done over the years to demonstrate support for our LGBTIQ+ staff, customers and community. This year’s campaign is no different. With unkind, cruel and damaging comments directed at the community every single day, we think it’s time for more #LoveSpeech,” says Sweta Mehra, chief marketing officer for ANZ.
“As a long time sponsor of Mardi Gras, ANZ has a remarkable history of support for LGBTIQ+ inclusion. In a world where intentional hatred and casual homophobia can be shouted from the rooftops without any real consequence, #LoveSpeech draws a line in the sand for a more civilised, more respectful and less combative conversation,” said a TBWA\Melbourne spokesperson.
The campaign is further supported by a PR strategy which sees influencers Benjamin Law (social commentator and writer), Moana Hope (AFLW) and Georgie Stone (actress and trans advocate) lend their voices to the initiative.
